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Using Mouse Events to Cause Subtle Movement on SVG Paths

SammyC123 test
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Go to solution Solved by OSUblake,

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This thread was started before GSAP 3 was released. Some information, especially the syntax, may be out of date for GSAP 3. Please see the GSAP 3 migration guide and release notes for more information about how to update the code to GSAP 3's syntax. 

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I have an SVG with a number of drawn paths/lines.  How would I go about giving them a very subtle, minor movement effect in the same direction as the cursor that is being dragged across them?

 

For example, if you move your mouse through the lines on the Codepen, they gently and briefly move downward, then return to their original position - almost as if a light breeze had hit them.  But how can I make them go whichever direction the mouse passes through?

 

Or maybe even something cooler, like the particles.js repulsion effect?

 

I'm not looking for an entire code solution; just a helping hand to get me started.  I'll be updating my Codepen slowly as I work out how to go about this.

 

Thank you in advance.

See the Pen rxKvMj by anon (@anon) on CodePen

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The easiest way to animate a path is to use the MorphSVG plugin. If you need finer control, you can animate the points on a path directly. However, this can lead to a lot of undesired behavior because you can't accurately interpolate a Bezier because of their control points.

 

To make working with a path easier, you can use a spline that goes through all the points. The most common one used in computer graphics is probably a catmull-rom. If you've ever used the BezierPlugin, a catmull-rom works just like the BezierPlugin set to type "thru". I don't know if the plugin is actually using a catmull-rom, but it's behavior is very similar.

 

A catmull-rom can basically combine all the commands into one command. You can test it out here...

http://schepers.cc/svg/path/dotty.svg

 

wNhUipx.png

 

It's currently not part of the SVG spec, although there have been talks about adding it. However, this doesn't mean you can use them. I know that Snap.svg can parse a catmull-rom command in a path, designated by an "R".

<path d="M20,380 R58,342,100,342,100,300,140,250,190,210,220,197"/>

And here's a script I wrote that will convert an array of points into an open path. You can change the tension variable at the top of code to change the curviness of the path. 1 is the default, 0 will look like a polyline, and -1 will create loops around the points.

 

See the Pen BowJed?editors=0010 by osublake (@osublake) on CodePen

 

I took a stab at creating a repulsion effect with a path. However, instead of doing a straight up repulsion, I used the VelocityTracker to add some momentum to the points when you knock them around.

 

See the Pen ?editors=0010 by osublake (@osublake) on CodePen

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